Battle Mountain’s lax records a first

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After losing to Dakota Ridge in double overtime on the road last season, the ladies of Huskies lacrosse got their revenge with a 7-6 victory over the Eagles on Saturday in Edwards.

That’s just what the Huskies needed after an season-opening loss at Fruita Monument.

Important Win

“As far as coming off a loss, it was really important for our team to move forward,” Huskies coach Emily Jaissle said. “As far as winning outside the conference, it’s big for our team and the league.”

That is because whether one calls it the Mountain Conference, as it is in lacrosse, or simply the Slope in other sports, it’s the same old story — if you’re not on the Front Range, you don’t exist. And a good way to get the Front Range’s attention, especially when it comes to making the playoffs, is to beat a school from down there.

Maddi Colin led the Huskies with four. Clare Baker, Mabry Gentry and Anna Trombetta also found the scoresheet.

Battle Mountain will continue its campaign to make some waves in the world of lacrosse when it heads to Wheat Ridge on Thursday.

EDWARDS

Soccer stomps Delta

Hey, Cope, you might want to play Morgan Croke.

“I remember when Morgan had a hat trick her freshman year on JV,” Huskies soccer coach David Cope said. “I said to her, ‘I probably should have had you play varsity.’ She said, ‘Yeah.’”

Well, two years later, the coach got it right. Croke, now a junior, recorded her first varsity hat trick as the Huskies decked Delta, 7-0, to move to 4-0 in 2014.

Logan Nash had two more goals. Emily Cope had a goal and three assists, and Acacia Ortiz found the net. The prettiest goal of the day went to Jenai Denardo after a beautiful build-up from Croke and Cope. (Denardo had a pretty busy weekend. More to follow on that count.)

As far as the team goes, Battle Mountain is off to a tidy start, having swept the first round of divisional play and held serve against Delta. (By the way, Steamboat Springs lost to Palisade, 1-0, on Saturday, so the Huskies are two games clear of the Sailors in the loss column.)

“The group is quietly putting it together,” coach Cope said. “We’ve only allowed one goal and scored a whole bunch. The challenge will be competing with each other in practice, really making ourselves better.”

Battle Mountain is at Rifle on Thursday.

RIFLE

Cotton shines for track at Rifle

Battle Mountain senior Ethan Cotton obliterated his personal-best time in the 3,200 meters by 49 seconds on Friday at the season-opening Rifle Invitational.

Forty-nine seconds is a lifetime in running.

“He has been working methodically,” Huskies track coach Rob Parish said. “He’s been running 60 miles per week. He hasn’t missed a workout, and it finally just clicked. The whole team was excited for him to break through both physically and mentally.”

That was just one of the highlights for Battle Mountain in Rifle. The Huskies ladies are still pretty good. The three-time defending regional champs won the meet.

The Gaylord sisters took care of the 3,200 with Sydney winning and Hannah in second. The mile was decent, too. Val Constien, Sydney Gaylord, Christina Shearon and Rychelle Denardo made it 1-2-5-7 there for the Huskies. Pole vaulting was a sweep for Isabelle Calabrese, Kate Pittel and Schaiar Milfeld.

Remember Jenai Denardo? Before scoring a goal for Huskies soccer on Saturday, she was on the winning 3,200 relay team on Friday. She was also a part of an impressive performance by the mile relay squad which finished third, despite going out in the slower of two heats at the meet.

Tesha Olson was third in the long jump and Kevin Rodriguez topped the boys in pole vault.

“There is such a great vibe with this team,” Parish said. “There are a lot of veteran leaders who have done track for a while, and now we have an influx of new kids who bring a lot of enthusiasm and different backgrounds to the team.”

Battle Mountain’s next stop is the Mickey Dunn in Grand Junction.

EL JEBEL

Baseball sweeps Aspen

Battle Mountain baseball won two games last season. Saturday, the Huskies started the season with two wins.

Battle Mountain swept a twinbill from Aspen, 9-0 and 13-3, at El Jebel.

Pitcher Sean Weller ran the show in the first game, twirling a two-hitter with one walk and 13 strikeouts. That generally works. Leadoff-hitter Andrew Herrera set the table with a 3-for-4 game and William Sterett was raking all day. He was 3-for-4 in the lidlifter and finished 7-for-9.

The Huskies finished off the Skiers in six innings in the nightcap. Catcher Hunter Meier, who was instrumental in Meier’s gem, powered the offense in win No. 2.

“We didn’t pound the ball, but we came up big with two outs and with runners in scoring position,” manager Jose Meza said. “Overall, we were aggressive at the plate. I hope it carries over. We’ve been telling them that we have a good group. The schedule’s going to get tougher, but it’s nice to see the kids playing good baseball on the first day out.”

Battle Mountain starts the league slate with a pair in Glenwood Springs on Saturday.